lies, damned lies, and statistics
4,000 soldiers from the Army National Guard [2,000 some from the PA Guard] were deployed today for ground duty in Iraq.
Four thousand more young soldiers, men and women, are being sent off to serve in this war being waged in Iraq, four thousand more individuals are being sent off on a tour of duty to protect those who are still living despite the current warfare in Iraq's streets. They're due back in a year, in June of 2006. But I pause and stare blankly at the images of the ceremony to send them off because I wonder:
how many will come back alive?
"Improvised explosive devices, the roadside bombs that insurgents build from castoff artillery shells and other munitions, have become the No. 1 killer of American troops in Iraq this year.."
"IEDS.. account for nearly 51 percent of the 255 U.S. combat deaths so far [in 2005].."
"IEDs have killed 10 American service members so far in June.."
"An explosion Jan. 5, for example, was so powerful that it ripped through an armored Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Baghdad, killing seven Army National Guardsmen.."
More and more are being sent off to patrol the ground of Iraq, to keep watch upon the innocent citizens of Iraq, and these soldiers sent off to do the protecting are dying more often than the ones that are doing the killing.
I don't approve of the extended war in Iraq.
I don't think we're improving Iraqi citizens' lives by keeping troops in the country.
I want the troops out of Iraq now, before one more innocent Iraqi or one more soldier lose their lives for the sake of whatever wayward reason the government has found to keep troops in Iraq..
Before the new problem in math classes becomes "If X represents the number of soldiers deployed and Y represents the innocent Iraqi citizens, and both decline steadily as time in Iraq increases..
how long before both X and Y equal zero?"